"When the Child of Innocence weeps in sadness for the loss of the Child of Light, her destiny will be determined and a miracle will be born. But if her heart seeks revenge, the fate of the two worlds is doom. If not, her tears of innocence shall confirm the bond of love, forming a barrier which will keep out all Evil. Then the spirit will come to life, and the key to victory will be revealed. Once the spirit fades and the Innocence is exposed to the Darkness, the land will be restored and those who inherited the Spirits of the Legendary Ten will triumph once more."

After the defeat of Lucemon, two years passed before a new threat arose and the Chosen Children were called back to the Digital World. Minamoto Kouji was the first to arrive. Under instructions sent to him by Ophanimon, he travelled to the Village of Beginnings and found a Digitama that, when touched, corrupted whosoever laid hands on it. Taking the egg to Ophanimon's Palace in hopes of enlightenment, he met Leomon, servant to Ophanimon. That night Kouji stayed in the palace before he would set off again when a girl by the name of Akiko Eriko found him. She bore a pair of knives at the sight of another human, yet was clearly outmatched when Kouji Spirit Evolved to Beowulfmon. Then Leomon, who had been examining the egg, was corrupted and forced to evolve to Panjamon. Panjamon attacked the pair, but Beowulfmon defended them both. In the aftermath, Panjamon devolved back to Leomon and the egg's control over him was released. Beowulfmon devolved back to Kouji and was alright, all except for a broken arm. Leomon quickly set his arm and then the trio left the palace, Kouji and Leomon going to find out how to destroy the egg and Akiko tagging along for nothing better to do. Outside of the palace, they ran into Cerberumon and were attacked. Leomon dealt with the foe while Kouji and Akiko hid in some brush. Just as Leomon was about to finish Cerberumon off, the egg hatched into Arkadimon Baby. Arkadimon distracted Leomon long enough for Cerberumon to escape and then he, too, left; headed for the Flame Village. Afraid of what he might do to the village, the trio quickly followed.

By the time they caught up with the Digimon, Arkadimon had evolved to his Child form and was wreaking havoc on the villae and its inhabitants. Leomon evolved to Saber Leomon and tried fighting Arkadimon, but every attack was deflected. Then Cerberumon snuck up on Akiko and was about to call out an attack when Kouji pushed her out of the way, sending them both falling through a manhole into the sewers below. An attack from Arkadimon collapsed part of the tunnel, making escape through that manhole impossible. Then Cerberumon evolved to Anubimon and fled with Arkadimon to Akiba Market. Luckily, Kouji recognized the sewers to be connected to the Underground Labyrinth and he and Akiko set out, navigating their way to where the tunnels let out into the forest. While in the tunnel, Kouji discovered Akiko carried with her a bottle of pills she'd grown addicted to over years of use, and when he tried to take them from her she turned her knife on him. It was then Kouji noticed scars trailing up and down her arms, and when he asked Akiko where she'd gotten them she confessed to him that her father had trained her her whole life to fight in a concrete pit against another adolescents, each striking the other with blades until one was eventually killed. Crowds would watch from above, betting money on who would win the fight. Horrified by what she told him, Kouji vowed to never let her father hurt her again and, though she doubted he could do anything about it, Akiko trustingly listed to his promise. Then they found their way out of the labyrinth and came across a healing spring, where Kouji was able to heal his arm. Finally Leomon caught up to them and they set out to follow the two villains to Akiba Market.

When they got to Akiba Market, they found Anubimon near the coast, yet Arkadimon was no where in sight. Kouji Spirit Evolved to Garmmon and fought Anubimon with Leomon, yet the battle remained a stalemate. Then Akiko found a D-Scanner which held a Spirit, yet she couldn't seem to activate it. Deciding the battle wasn't going anywhere being fought like it was, Garmmon instructed Leomon and Akiko to take a nearby ferry and get out of the area while he deal with Anubimon. They obeyed and soon after Garmmon shot down Anubimon, sending him to the depths of the sea. Then, using his Shooting Star attack, Garmmon rocketed across the water toward the ferry. But just before he reached it, Anubimon attacked from below. Garmmon devolved to an unconscious Kouji who fell into the ocean and did not arise. Suddenly Akiko's Spirit activated and she evolved into Ancient Sphinxmon, destroying Anubimon. It was too late to save Kouji, for by the time Anubimon was dealt with, they had lost track of the place where he'd fallen. They continued on to the Gomamon Islands where Leomon pledged his loyalty to Akiko as his new leader. Too depressed to argue, Akiko accepted the possition without a hint of self-confidence, knowing she'd doom them both. Yet she knew she couldn't ignore her responsibility and so she decided it would be best for them to set up camp for the night. Meanwhile, along the ocean floor, Kouji remained unconscious but not dead, a bubble of necessary air surrounding him. His D-Scanner lay at his side, and on the screen showed the familiar symbol of Ophanimon.

Hours later Kouji awoke to Ophanimon's voice as she urged him to leave the ocean floor and swim to the surface. He did so and soon was out of the ocean onto the shore of Akiba Market. From there he set off again, headed to the Forest Kingdom where he met up with Bokomon and Neemon. He rejoiced at the reunion but still worried for Akiko and Leomon, wondering where they might have ended up.

Soon Akiko and Leomon left the islands, taking their ferry up a river that ran near Candmon Canyon. Their ferry eventually leaked and, as Leomon stopped to repair it, Akiko explored the surrounding terrain. Making her way through the forest, she glimpsed through the trees a figure that drove her into full-blown panic, and without thought she began to run toward the canyon. In doing so she dropped her D-Scanner among the bushes. Before she knew it, Akiko was tumbling into the canyon and hit the ground with a thud. Trying to stagger to her feet, she collapsed as a sharp intake of breath sent a piercing sensation through her side; the fall had broken one or more ribs. The figure she'd been running from followed her, descending the canyon wall more carefully so he didn't share the same painful fate as his daughter. Kirk crossed the canyon and stood before of her, glad to have finally found his best killer. Meanwhile, Kouji had found Akiko's D-Scanner in the forest and followed the crushed plants to the canyon edge, looking down upon Kirk and Akiko. Anger filled him at the sight of the man who was no doubt Akiko's father and his Spirit Evolved to Wolfmon, dropping into the canyon with his victory raised. Within seconds and very frightened Kirk was destroyed and purified by Wolfmon and he devolved back to Kouji who ran to help a trembling Akiko. When Akiko saw Kirk was gone, she rejoiced, but as Kouji returned her D-Scanner to her and asked when she got it, she realized her savior was supposed to be dead and freaked out. It took much explaining for Kouji to convince her he wasn't some sort of ghost. Akiko's joy quickly turned to anger at him having almost gotten himself killed and she resolved to climb the canyon wall without his help, broken ribs and all. Kouji let her go, but when he saw how injured she was quickly ran to help. During the upward climb, Kouji nearly fell, but Akiko evolved to Ancient Sphinxmon and flew them out toward where Leomon had been.

When they got to the riverside, they didn't find Leomon but Takuya who had only just arrived. Kouji was overjoyed to see his friend, but the reunion was shortlived as Arkadimon appeared, announcing their friend Leomon had been captured and taken to the center of a labyrinth he had constructed within the Continent of Darkness: the Labyrinth of Fear. The group hurried off to the Continent where they found a labyrinth that went on for miles. Each Chosen Child was restricted to their own path where they would venture into the labyrinth alone. Eventually, they'd each come across a chamber where they'd come face to face with their worst fear. They entered the labyrinth and soon each came across their chambers. Inside Takuya's he came face to face with a mirror of Kouji who attacked him, blaming him for some horrible unknown fate that had befallen their group. Inside Akiko's she stumbled upon the illusion of Kouji's dead body killed by Kirk. And in Kouji's he was trapped as he was forced to watch his friends be killed without being able to help them. Akiko was the first to disprove her living nightmare and she was freed from her chamber, allowed to venture into Kouji's and help him get over what he had witnessed. Soon he, too, was free and not long after Takuya also broke Arkadimon's spell. They then made their way to the center of the labyrinth and met at the door leading to Leomon's chamber. When they ventured inside, they found the only way to free Leomon was to destroy him in battle. At first they hesitated, but when he attacked they were forced to defeat him. Once his data had been scanned and his Digitama purified, the spell which kept them within the labyrinth diminished and they were free to leave. They left, each depressed by the horrible death of their friend.

The Chosen Children set up camp not far from the labyrinth among some of the Continent's more rocky terrain. That night, Kouichi joined their numbers, which caused a conflict with Akiko. When Kouji pulled her away to discuss why she'd come to the Digital World, Arkadimon attacked the other two and scanned the majority of the Continent, leaving only the Terminal, the Venus Rose, and the Trailmon Graveyard. Thankfully, the children escaped just in time and met up at Flame Village where they stayed the night at an inn run by Numemon. It wasn't long before Arkadimon attacked again. Kouji, who was weakened, stayed out of the fight and hid in the forest with Bokomon and Neemon. It was then they found the first half of the Prophecy and, after Arkadimon was chased off, Bokomon translated it for all of them. When they set up camp the night after, Ophanimon appeared, telling Akiko her mother was in the real world in a hospital, critically injured from a car accident. She requested Akiko return to her before her mother died, but Akiko refused to accept she even had a mother. After much convincing from Kouji, though, she finally agreed to go back. Then plan was that Akiko would return to the real world for one hour (a year in the Digital World), disguised by Kouji's jacket and bandana from any of Kirk's men that might be searching for her. Then she left from the Flame Terminal. It wasn't long after that Arkadimon showed up and scanned the village, chasing the children off to the Forest Kingdom.

In the real world, Akiko made her way to the hospital but, when a gust of wind blew off Kouji's bandana, was recognized by one of Kirk's men. She tried to retrieve the bandana, but had to leave it as she burst into the hospital. She managed to hide from the man chasing her and then made her way to her mother's room. Her mother, who was in a coma, was awoken when Akiko found her, and they had a few minutes to talk before doctors rushed into the room to prepare her for tests as to why she recovered. Not having much time left, Akiko left the hospital in doctors' scrubs so that Kirk's men wouldn't recognize her. But as she got to the train station, one of them caught on and chased her all the way down to the basement. Trailmon Mole was there waiting for her and she leapt on board just as she was shot by a tranquilizer dart, narrowly avoiding the doom of being recaptured.

As Akiko was gone, two new children, Chris and Ran, joined the team. They gained from Kouji the Spirits of Steel and Water. About this time, a Digimon named Black Gabumon sided with Arkadimon. Surprisingly enough, during the year Akiko was gone, they only battled with Arkadimon once. Also while she was gone, Kouji contacted Ophanimon and held a conversation with her about Akiko. Ophanimon informed him that Akiko's spirit wasn't a true Spirit, but one implanted in the D-Scanner by Arkadimon to slowly gain control over her. As soon as she returned from the real world, it would have to be destroyed. Kouji grudgingly accepted the responsibility. When Akiko got back, they found her in the Trailmon still unconscious from the tranquilizer's effects. Taking her to Seraphimon's Castle, she was taken care of by Sorcerymon while the others ate. Half-way through dinner, Kouji left to go check on Akiko, and not long after he reached her room she awoke. When Akiko told him about the bandana, he was upset, but because she had risked her life by trying to get it back rather than because of her losing it. Then it was Kouji's turn to tell her about how her spirit was a fake made by Arkadimon. Akiko was upset by the news, but she knew the spirit would have to be destroyed. In the forest Ancient Sphinxmon and Beowulfmon fought until Ancient Sphinxmon was weak enough that he could scan the spirit's data. Then she reverted back to Akiko. But, oddly enough, Akiko wasn't the one who had taken the most damage from the fight; Kouji was. He needed to stay the night at the castle and regain his strength. Meanwhile, Seraphimon informed Akiko that she was the Child of Innocence the Prophecy referred to and that, though she was without a Spirit, the fate of the Digital World depended on her.

The next morning when they were about to set off again after Seraphimon gave Takuya and Kouji the Spirits of Wind, Ice, and Electricity so they could evolve to Kaiser Greymon and Magna Garurumon when they next fought with Arkadimon. Then Cherubimon contacted the children on their D-Scanners, telling them to go to the Village of Beginnings. When they got there, a Digitama hatched into a Pabumon, which soon evolved to a Chibimon. The Chibimon turned out to be the purified re-incarnation of Kirk. Akiko grudgingly allowed him to stay with them, but couldn't hide the fear and hatred she held for the small Digimon. Just then Arkadimon attacked Beanstalk Village. Takuya and Kouji evolved to Kaiser Greymon and Magna Garurumon and went to go fight him, but they lost miserably and the village was scanned. When they returned, it was evening, and they stayed the night in the Village of Beginnings' hollowed out tree. Black Gabumon attacked as Black Metal Garurumon, but he was chased away and only Chris was wounded. Suddenly, Kouji discovered a bottle of pills in his pocket that Akiko had taken from the hospital to help her sleep. Furious with her, he smashed the bottle against the wall, scattering the pills everywhere. Akiko picked up all of them that she could and ran off. Chris followed and talked with Akiko, letting her know that Kouji hadn't meant to be hurtful and that he was only looking out for her. By the time they returned, the others were asleep, and so they both found their own spots within the tree, resting but not sleeping.

That night Kouji had a dream that he had been the one kidnapped by Kirk and forced to fight to live and that he had fought Akiko in the pits. The battle's outcome was not pleasant as Kouji, who had been trying to avoid fighting, accidently caused Akiko's death. When he awoke, he found Akiko and apologized to her for being so harsh. Then Chris' old childhood friend, Wynter, showed up and joined the team. Not long after, Bokomon discovered a new page in his book that told about an additional ten Warriors and five Dark Hosts who could either save or destroy the Digital World. The feeling came over both Kouji and Kouichi that the first of the Spirits would be found near the Forest Kingdom, and so they went to look there. As it turned out, they found the I-Spirit of Light which went to Akiko, transforming her D-Scanner so it changed from black-and-gold to white-and-purple. Then Izumi joined their ranks as well as a girl named Koto and they found the second half of the Prophecy which told more about the Child of Innocence, Akiko, who would save the Digital World. Afterwards Akiko fell horribly ill and in need of medical assistance. Kouji found a pack of Garurumon who could help her and they took her to their village, effectively healing her, while the other Chosen Children discussed the possibility of Kouji being in love with Akiko. Then the Garurumon stole the childrens' D-Scanners and ran off to Candmon Canyon before anyone could do anything about it. The children followed them and eventually got the digivices back just as they were called to the Venus Rose. Cherubimon met them there and explained that Arkadimon had found out about the Prophecy and was on his way to destroy Akiko so it could never be realized. But before they had time to do anything about it, Arkadimon showed up, scanning the Venus Rose and Cherubimon as well. Takuya, Kouji, Kouichi, Chris, Ran, and Izumi all Spirit Evolved to Susanoomon and Akiko Spirit Evolved to Wolfwomon, her new Hybrid, to fight Arkadimon with Wynter and the three Digimon watching from the sidelines. When Arkadimon and Susanoomon's attacks collided, it created a huge explosion which devolved all the children and scattered them around the Digital World. Arkadimon disappeared, but soon after five Dark Hosts: Venom Vamdemon, Mephismon, Matadormon, Lady Devimon, and an unknown Digimon appeared. Rumor quickly spred that they, along with the data of a human child, could resurrect the Dark Lord for the complete destruction of the Digital World.